The model number should be printed on the rod. I was wondering if I could find a blank that would be similar since like Big Crappie said redoing this rod would cost more than starting over.

Great coloring and blending.

Out of curiosity, what is the rod model?
Sorry I don’t have time to help you with this one. Hopefully someone else can reach out.

The Power Loon is great. Hope KQRS stays rock and plays less of the same songs.

This will also be my son’s second season. 8th grade. He averaged 18 last year.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

The chipmunks on the other hand stand their ground, chihuahuas do not like that.

Which one is bigger?

I used an 8” duct end cap and section of duct. This keeps them from getting to the feeders from the poll. They are now climbing up the tree in the front yard, to my house roof, to my backyard gazabo roof, to the bird feeders.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

What I miss and that is mostly gone forever is the stereo equipment from that era. Those stacks of components with their flickering analog meters or later the digital graphs. And it was just cool.

This cool stuff is not gone. You just don’t see it much anymore because it doesn’t pass WAF. (wife acceptance factor) Large speakers normally don’t fit into their décor. My wife said the same thing. “There is no way you are putting that big ugly box in the living room!” The nice thing about DIY is you can easily hide speakers. I have x9 12” woofers under my couch. No one knows they are there until I turn the system on. DIY can be very inexpensive. The 12” were only $30 each.

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JEREMY wrote:

Is it making the tv turn white or making you have a stroke?

TV will turn white in the center like you took your hand and push on the screen. This even happens when the door to the room is open. This system is in my pool room so it’s not a big deal. The TV is only used to select the music. It is just a 2-channel bookshelf system with DIY subs. (driver count: x32 tweeters, x8 5-1/2″ mid, x2 18″ mid bass, and x4 18″ infinite baffle subwoofers. 13,000 watts) You can feel every note with very low distortion. I had to add velcro to all the pictures in the house so they stay on the walls and super glue in the pins that holds the toilet seat on the upper level toilet. The pins would resonate, work themselves out, and the seat would end up on the floor.

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james hogan wrote:

I hear you! I have a great system and a honkin big flat screen. Nothing better than great music that actually sounds amazing. Also, with this setup, there are some incredible music videos out there and when played on a huge screen with an excellent sound system, it adds so much. Check out some of the VNV Nation vids, or Steam Powered Giraffe. Go with The Steam Rises or Hunnybee. I’d also recommend Gunship videos. They have a Miami Vice vibe and despite being a contemporary band, they also have a very fond spot for 70’s, 80’s and 90’s memories.

I will check out these recommendations. Thank you. If I turn it up too loud I can’t watch the TV because the pressure in the room makes the center of the TV turn white with each bass note. It is very distracting.

gim wrote:

I understand.

I can appreciate your point of view on the subject. Eventually it’ll just be the norm along with all kinds of other training for operating an automobile, snowmobile, ATV, motorcycle, firearm, etc.

This is already the norm when you are younger and want to operate these things. You must take a test to operate any of these things. Once you become 18+ it was not required but highly suggested. (except motorcycle or firearm)

There are many who didn’t grow up in a boat and have not had experienced operators training them how to properly use it. Even back in mid 90s when I took my watercraft safety course, I pointed things out I learned that none of my uncles or grandpas knew.

I don’t understand the pushback from making sure people understand the proper rules and what to do. This makes everyone safer.

Everyone should take the boaters safety course. I did it when I was young and redid it when I helped my son with his. It doesn’t take much time to do it and it is a good review of what you should be doing. I just noticed my endorsements for boating, snowmobiling, ATV, motorcycle, life time fishing, and firearms are on longer on the back of my ID. I wonder if I need to redo any of them?

fishthumper wrote:

Good on you for helping out with the high school bass league. I’ve thought about signing up for the local one here. The Sartell / Sauk rapids team is Massive and is always looking for additional boat captions

It’s a lot of fun. There are many high schools looking for boat captions if you have time and a boat. Just reach out to your local high school and they will get you set up with some kids.

There are some benefits for being caption like discounts on rods, reels, and tackle.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Are you supplying the kids tackle?

I gave them a bunch of stuff I didn’t use so they could fill up their tackle boxes. The first year I did replace a lot but stopped because it got to be too much. Last year I didn’t donate as much. This year I am thinking trade. Like if you wash my boat you can have a couple of lures. At the end of every tournament day the kids do get some kind of lure for participating from the organization.

I work less than 5 miles from home and for some reason I only hear commercials at the time I drive into and leave work. So I don’t even turn on the radio. That and the radio sucks in my truck. At home I use multiple streaming services, large refrigerator size diy speakers, and my system can do 130dB at 15hz. A good song on a great system can change your day. I don’t miss 8 tracks or cassettes at all and vinyl only skips. I am ready to go home and turn it up. Too bad it is only Monday morning.

I have spent some stupid money on muskie lures. But in 16 years I can still count how many I have lost on one hand. I would need multiple hands to keep track of how many bass lures I lose each year. The last two years I have volunteered to be a high school bass league boat caption and thought about a go fund me page. They average losing x3 lures a night each. Surprising some of the cheap options for Temu are quite good. Most just need the hook filed a bit.

I buy a pig every year and like to mix things up. Many great suggestions have been made. My wife really likes it when I make a raspberry chipotle marinade and grill them. The last two pork chop dinners I went breaded and think I will do some sort of breading one next.

I am also in the pots, pans, and knives are hand wash while everything else goes into the dishwasher. I hand washed everything before I got a Bosch dishwasher. My wife or I fill the dishwasher and my son empties it.

You will want the lower gear ratio to help pull them in. I like to use a line counter on my sturgeon, catfish, and musky sucker rods. It is a lot of fun to count how far they run and it is an accurate way to tell your buddy to put his beer down and grab the net.

Stanley wrote:

You could always rent one and see if you like it before spending the money to buy and find out it’s not for you.

Since this is along the line of this thread: Any good place to rent one that has a larger daily millage cap? Our RV gets 4-6 MPH and the camper vans we looked at claim 22-26. We would like to rent one and drive to visit family in Texas. Any recommendations of places? I saw many people offering to rent their camper van like a VRBO. But limit to 50 miles a day. So if you rent for 4 days you can do a total of 200 miles for the trip.

I hope everyone enjoys their VD.

I had x4 5-gallon buckets. Over 10 years it is now down to 2 since I sorted 2 of them. I have been wanting to do the other two for just as long. I just have too many other important things that I would rather do / finish. (like fish) I have one of those nut and bolt thread checkers that one would find at the hardware store and found an old dentist tool cabinet that is fully stocked and organized. Having a well stock parts area is so nice. I have been slowly getting rid of “useful” stuff that I have finally admitted I will never use. It always seems like a week or month after I tossed it, I find something I could have used it for.

I believe the trick is to make your lure dance without it moving much up and down in the water column. (especially with a jig and minnow head) One of the first things I do with a new bait is tie it on and jig it a couple of inches in the water and see what the jig will do with the line / rod combo I am using. I found this dance is controlled by the tapper of the blank 2” from the tip to ~10” and the way the blanks loads.

I fell for the scent spray. That oil made the bucktails a stiff blob and every bucktail touching the one you sprayed was trashed when you put them next to each other in the tackle box.

I keep going back to home made jigs and wax worms.

We can’t compare deer to fish. For one, the insurance companies push to reduce the number of deer in an area. It is hard to hit a fish with your truck unless your truck goes through the ice first.

Fish lip grippers work great for getting toothy fish out of the hole and your hands scar free. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Entsport-Gripper-Professional-Stainless-Grabber/dp/B01C7BTT6U/ref=asc_df_B01C7BTT6U?mcid=fe7c644424223c3fa9390d9bf136294f&hvocijid=8859150590183260618-B01C7BTT6U-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8859150590183260618&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019498&hvtargid=pla-2281435179738&psc=1

I also like to use them for tullibee so my hands don’t stink.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year IDO community.

Well said Sheldon. I have heard many people when I was younger complain about shop rates. Lots of people forget about the overhead and how much is invested in tools just to do the work. It does add up fast when you are talking $100+ an hour for shop rates. Sheldon forgot to add in the cost of personal insurance for the employees and other insurance. There is a lot of overhead that needs to be paid out of that hourly rate. Do you tip your mechanic when you settle your bill with them? If the book says 4 hours and they are good and can do it in 3 hours. That’s their tip for having the knowledge and knowing tricks to do it faster. If mechanic A took twice as long as mechanic B. Would you be ok with paying twice as much? I also don’t think they would charge you the full flat rate of say 10 hour book time if they did it in 2 hours. That’s where having a mechanic you trust comes in.

Happy Birthday Randy.